My First Lie
by The 1000th Kiss
Summary: I have always told the truth, no matter what. But this was one time that I knew telling the truth was not an option. Collins and I were in too deep to even consider it. We both knew that if we told the truth to anyone at all, we would die. We all would. (Joanne's POV, During and post-RENT).


**New and completely random story idea. I had to write it. I swear I'll update other things. I will. I'd just like to see how this is received.**

**I own nothing but the plot line. The Almighty Larson owns the rest.**

I look around the dark room and listen. I do not hear a sound. No one seems to be moving or speaking. There is only silence. This is the quietest it has ever been since . . . God, how long has it been? I now fully understand why interrogation rooms rarely have clocks in them. Not knowing how long he or she has been trapped in that small room can drive a suspect mad enough to admit to anything if it means they will be able to leave. Well, escorted out by authorities anyway. I am uncertain what will happen in the next few hours; the possibilities are endless. I am beyond frightened.

I try to slide my hands out of the ropes that bind them together. When that fails, I try the same with the ropes around my ankles. They don't budge. The knots are too tight. The rope around my waist that attaches my chair to my friend's is starting to cut the circulation off in my legs. I turn my head toward my mourning friend. It's good that he's stopped crying.

"Collins?" I say. He shifts, causing the rope that holds us together to tighten a bit. "I'm . . . _so _sorry." I deserve this. I deserve every last bit of it, but he doesn't. He just got sucked into it. "I never meant for any of this to—"

"Don't blame yourself, Joanne," he tells me. My eyes fill with tears.

"I knew they were dangerous." I feel a lump in my throat as I speak. "I knew how ruthless they were. I knew practically everything about them, and I _still _pushed you into helping me. If it wasn't for me—"

"There was _no way _you could have known they would kill her," Collins interrupts. I hear the sadness in his voice. "This was out of your control."

He is right; this _was _out of my control. Still . . . there has to be something I could have done to stop it. Collins should not be here. He should be home with Mark, Roger, Mimi, and Maureen. Oh God . . . Maureen. There is a strong possibility that I may never see her again. The last thing we did together was fight. I do not want that fight to be the last thing she remembers about me.

The door of the room suddenly opens with a loud _creak! _Footsteps approach Collins and I. We are both still. The only captor of ours that I do not know stands in front of me.

"Are you ready to give in?" he asks. I look down at my hands and he forces me to look up at him. He then brings his face close to mine. I glare at him as the other three men who brought us here enter the room. They surround our chairs.

"Did she break yet?" one of them asks. The man who first came into the room smirks at me. I wish he would back up.

"She's close," he says. "I can always tell when a woman is close."

My glare grows fiercer. Out of anger, I spit in the man's face. He hits me with the back of his hand before backing away and wiping my saliva off of his cheek. I am sure I will pay for that. To my surprise, he looks to one of the others and I suddenly feel the rope taken from around my waist. He grabs me by the arm and throws me to the ground.

"Get off of me!" Collins demands. I prop myself up on my forearms to see two of our captors dragging Collins across the room.

"What are you doing?" I ask. The man who I spit on starts chuckling. I glare at him again. "What the hell is going on?"

"Let me go!" Collins shouts as he's dragged out of the room. "Let go of me!"

"Where are they taking him?! Tell me where they're taking my friend!"

The man ignores my questions and heads for the door. He turns to me before closing the door. I open my mouth to speak, but I am silenced by a deafening scream of pain. It can only be Collins.

"No!" I cry. I wince as Collins screams again. "Make them stop! Please!"

The man's smirk returns. He folds his arms and walks toward me. I close my eyes tightly as Collins lets out another scream. I cannot even imagine what those men are doing to him. And it is all my fault. A tear rolls down my cheek.

"Let's see how long it you can keep up your tough girl act," he says. I open my eyes and more tears fall. His smirk turns into an evil sort of grin as he chuckles. "Yeah . . . you're definitely close to breaking. I can feel it."

**Review please.**


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